


midnight eyes

by brieflygorgeous



Category: Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Fae, Alternate Universe - Urban Fantasy, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff and Humor, M/M, Meet-Cute, Mutual Pining
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-24
Updated: 2020-05-24
Packaged: 2021-03-03 06:48:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,116
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24346792
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/brieflygorgeous/pseuds/brieflygorgeous
Summary: "Thrilling as it may be to believe himself a puzzle people yearn to solve, Jeongin is just terribly shy under all this bright personality, and that often led him to no more than a couple of dates."orJeongin is clueless about flowers and love.
Relationships: Lee Felix/Yang Jeongin | I.N
Comments: 18
Kudos: 91





	midnight eyes

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Iris_Duncan_72](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Iris_Duncan_72/gifts).



> This is a special request for my friend, Aja <3
> 
> The summary doesn't do this story justice, for the better or worst. This has no plot, it's just 5,1k of fluff and mutual pining lmao I hope you guys enjoy it anyways!

Twilight undoes the seams of day to bring the night. As the warmth drains out the horizon, Jeongin feels himself come alive with the first stars of Winter. It’s a pity that the invigorating cold breath of longer nights bring only the lackluster prospect of earlier lectures, higher education not alleviating its grip on young Night Faes like him.

“What course do we have now?” Jeongin snatches the paper schedule on Seungmin’s, never having bothered to print one for himself. “Enchantry? This early in the night?”

“It’s the only debauchery we’ll know until Spring comes,” Seungmin clarifies, smoothing the carefully schemed schedule Jeongin just had to crumple. “The only other option was Moon Dance, and no offense but you have no motor coordination for that. Remember last term when you-”

“Ha. Ha. Ha. Let’s not talk about that.”

Distracted by memories he’d rather not evoke, Jeongin accidentally bumps into someone, and judging by the loud clattering on the floor and Seungmin’s dramatic gasp, he’s just proven the point of his complete lack of self-awareness once again.

A different kind of embarrassment stops Jeongin on his tracks when, in his attempt to help the person collect their belongings, their hands meet over the slender shaft of a golden arrow.

Much has been said about Jeongin’s appearance before. His is a sly, charming kind of beauty resembling of fennec foxes, adorable little balls of mischief whose hunter cries could scare even banshees away. A misleading kind of beauty then, teeth bare from the youthful innocence of braces, a predator most don’t assume Faes to be.

The pair of eyes staring back at him have a much simpler approach. Even in the low light of dusk they somehow still reflect the sun, delicate and luminous as the path of freckles scattered on his face like dandelion seeds. Jeongin could have mistaken him for an angel—but angels are surprisingly temperamental and conceited in their grace, while the face before him blushes and hides behind a dangling vine of Bittersweets from his flower garland.

“Sorry,” Jeongin says maybe a tad too late, scrambling with his hands to disguise his own blushing. “Here, your arrows.”

The boy accepts them with a smile that blooms like the little orange flowers framing the side of his face and ah, Jeongin should have known.

While Day and Night Faes are mostly on cordial terms, it is unusual for both groups to interact. Maybe it’s the foolish idea that their customs and habits are so widely diverse they’re not expected to conciliate—and sure thing, Jeongin may have partaken in some shady mockery of Daylies (as Nighties called them) during his awkward teenage years.

But looking at the Day Fae before him, regally dressed in their traditional archery gear—earthy colored chest and arm guard gilded with flower patterns over a silky and loose shirt, flower garland slightly askew but nonetheless carefully arranged over his head, and his hands gingerly holding the golden arrows that had fallen from the quiver—, Jeongin wonders why had he ever kept his distance from them.

“Sorry,” he repeats, visibly dumbstruck for reasons beyond just clumsiness. “Uh…?”

“It’s Felix,” the Day Fae says, smile bubbling to a giggle. “You don’t remember me, do you? We were in the same Botany class last semester.”

_Were they?_

Jeongin doesn’t recall much from that class except having accidentally overwatered and angered many a plant. More than once, actually.

“Sorry, I think I failed that class.”

“That’s a shame,” Felix sighs, like it really is. “Would have been nice to see you in Advanced Botany this semester. Oh well, I must get going before the sun goes down.”

Felix hurries off before Jeongin can react. A pair of Day Faes trail behind him, exchanging unreadable glances between themselves before one of them spares Jeongin a very measured onceover. The Fae doesn’t say anything, just cryptically gives him a thumbs up before he snickers away with his taller friend.

“Whew, buddy,” Seungmin grabs Jeongin by the shoulder, sympathetic and slightly condescending smile on his face. “You were drooling a little bit in there.”

“What the- I was not!”

“Yes, you were. Come on, we better hurry up to class as well. You’ll want to learn every way to enchant that Felix guy.”

x

Though no stranger to the peculiar ways of love, romance has been mostly a passive verb in Jeongin’s vocabulary. Puberty had a generous effect to his popularity in high school, and while it didn’t translate to people lining up by his locker with love letters like they did to vampires and werewolves—the alleged heartthrobs of the supernatural, at least according to humans—, it often meant Jeongin was sought out more than he reached out to other people.

His lack of romantic advances is usually read as the natural allureness of Night Faes, known to be captivating as the nights who have birthed them, sometimes to the point of intimidation. Thrilling as it may be to believe himself a puzzle people yearn to solve, Jeongin is just terribly shy under all this bright personality, and that often led him to no more than a couple of dates.

Seungmin said doing research would help him become versed in the art of flirtation, but so far the teen magazine Jeongin bought for the _“HOT! Cupid gives you 10 tips on how to win your bae’s heart”_ has done nothing but convince him to get rid of his entire wardrobe. Apparently stripes aren’t “it” anymore, and all they’d do would be scare off potential love interests for his questionable fashion sense.

“Hey! You’re early today!”

Jeongin’s heart skips a beat before he even sees him coming.

Admittedly the orchard should be the last place to be if Jeongin wanted to avoid crossing paths with Felix so soon—they are both Faes after all, and their mutual affinity for nature attracts them to greenery, as sparse as it may be during Winter.

But even the waning afternoon sun can’t seem to dim Felix’s glow. The paling sun rays haven’t faded his freckles just yet, and Jeongin finds himself wishing they never disappear.

Something does feel off though, and it only dawns on Jeongin when Felix is close enough that their hands nearly touch on the dewy grass.

“You’re wearing a fake flower garland?”

“Oh, you can tell?” Felix tugs on the sweet pea stems woven in his hair, wincing where an ugly knot pulls on the roots. “They don’t allow us to wear real flowers to Botany classes anymore. A girl got hurt because the carnivorous flowers wanted to eat the peonies in her hair, so now we can’t wear real flowers during class hours.”

Jeongin doesn’t think much before reaching out to ease Felix’s taut strands with his fingertips. Even bleached to a light blond his hair remains incredibly soft to the touch, contrasting with the unflattering feel of the plastic sweet peas.

“That’s bad,” Jeongin tucks a stray lock behind Felix’s ear. “Real flowers look good on you.”

Felix’s ears grow red, and it suddenly occurs to Jeongin the possible implications of what he’s just done. He thinks back on the magazine not so discreetly hidden by his side and wonders if this counts as _Cupid tip number five: initiate gentle physical contact to ensure interest._

“Thank you,” Felix tries to smile his embarrassment away, but the blushing that spreads under his freckles is much too distracting to Jeongin’s weak heart. “And you, what are you doing here? Decided to sign up for Advanced Botany?”

“Ah, no. I was actually...skipping class,” Jeongin tries to push his backpack over the magazine lest Felix sees it. “Can’t stand another lecture on Human Anthropology. I only signed up for the credits.”

Felix snorts at Jeongin’s lack of discretion, but if he sees the giant _“HOT! Cupid gives you 10 tips on how to win your bae’s heart”_ jumping out of the magazine cover, he doesn’t comment on it.

“Guess I’ll see you around then,” Felix gets up to leave. “I have to get to class now.”

Jeongin decides he needs to be a little bolder—if touching your crush’s hair and offering a genuine compliment for no reason at all didn’t get his message across already—and blurts out before he can think.

“Oh. Uh. By the way.”

_Come on._

“I’m Jeongin.”

Felix smiles, blush wearing off to a sort of quiet confidence before he saunters away to the greenhouses.

“Yeah, I know.”

x

“I decided to switch to Advanced Botany classes.”

Seungmin looks up from his book with the most deliberately surprised look someone utterly unimpressed can fake.

“It’s not what you’re thinking.”

“I didn’t say anything.”

“It was either that or Human Anthropology and I think I’m less disastrous with plants than I am with humans.”

Seungmin scoffs at first before deciding he has no mercy whatsoever for Jeongin’s ego and straight out bursts out laughing. He doesn’t even stop when Jeongin hits him with a pillow.

“Hey! Am I a joke to you?”

“Actually-”

“No, don’t answer it. Just help me get some dignity back and lecture me on the reproductive system of magical plants or something. Classes start next week for me and I’m already behind.”

“Oh man, you’re so whipped, aren’t you?”

Jeongin is not.

x

Jeongin is totally whipped if he’s willing to put up with a once per week four hour long class in the middle of a bright sunny day just to have a chance to see Felix.

The early noon sun isn’t entirely unpleasant, but this is the earliest Jeongin has ever willingly been awake since starting college. Not being stricitly nocturnal like vampires and still having to live a life regulated by diurnal standards means his understanding of a healthy living is questionable, at best. Ironically, Jeongin isn’t the only nocturnal student waiting by the greenhouses for the professor to show up.

A very unlikely vampire is sitting on the shade of a naked tree, slurping on a sugar free tomato juice bottle and balancing a fancy light canceling umbrella on his other hand. Vampire veganism has long been officially mainstream for ethical reasons concerning their relationships with humans, but it is known it’s also due to human blood losing its appeal after the surge of junk food. Still, it is somewhat of an odd sight in broad daylight.

The vampire notices him staring, and probably misunderstanding Jeongin’s intentions, offers him a second bottle of tomato juice. 

“Ah, no thanks,” Jeongin smiles politely. “I already had breakfast.”

“Don’t be shy,” the vampire pushes the juice onto Jeongin’s hands. “Kids need their nutrition to grow up.”

Jeongin makes an indignant noise but he doesn’t turn down this weird display of kindness. He uncaps the bottle and takes a sip, only to get shocked at the taste.

“This is delicious?! How do tomatoes just taste like this?”

“Harvested by the nature gods,” the vampire chuckles, as if quoting the brand’s slogan.

“Ah, Changbinnie, you’re already here!”

A Day Fae who Jeongin recognizes as one of Felix’s friend—the one who for whatever reason gave Jeongin a thumbs up the first time they met—is coming towards them, which means he knows the vampire who just gave Jeongin the tomato juice, which means—

“Jeongin, hey!”

_Shit._

A week of sleepless days ever since they last saw each other were not enough to prepare Jeongin to see Felix again. That radiant smile that grows on Felix’s face with just Jeongin’s name on his mouth makes Jeongin’s heart soar stupidly high.

Jeongin nearly spills some tomato juice on himself when Felix approaches him, sparkly eyes and golden freckles framed by a dangly branch of deep pink bleeding heart flowers.

“Hanging out during daylight?”

“Ah yeah,” Jeongin smiles, nearly apologetic if only to hide his embarrassment. “I decided to switch to Advanced Botany after all. Maybe plants will be nicer to study than humans.”

Felix’s giggling is a teasing to his ego, because he doesn’t believe Jeongin’s excuse for one second and yet Jeongin is laughing along with him.

_Cupid tip number 2: compliment, compliment, compliment._

“I really like your flower garland today,” Jeongin gingerly takes a bud between his fingers, saddened by the feel of plastic once again. “I think you look really nice in pink.”

Felix looks away to dodge the compliment, but his cheeks flush as if to match the flowers on his hair. When he makes it to adjust the garland, Jeongin notices the bruising on his knuckles.

“Something happened?”

Felix blinks for a moment, confused, til he realizes something and yanks back his hand. The beautiful redness on his cheeks is replaced by something uncomfortable, something that abruptly cuts down conversation.

“Guys,” Felix’s friend’s voice snaps them out of it, and arm in arm with Changbin, he points to the greenhouse. “The professor is here, keep flirting after class is over.”

Felix doesn’t offer much of an explanation before skittering away to follow his friends to class.

It must be Jeongin’s imagination, but he swears he sees the plastic bleeding hearts withering on Felix’s hair.

x

Jeongin’s attention span is disastrous, to put it lightly. When he’s not distracted by the professor’s overly complex usage of terminology he doesn’t understand, Jeongin is busy staring at the back of Felix’s head, wondering what exactly happened to his hand.

As soon as they had gotten inside the greenhouse, Felix slipped on a pair of gardening gloves and sat at the very front of the classroom with a giant book on his desk to shield him from conversation. With his friends huddled on the nearby tabbles, there was nowhere for Jeongin to go but to sit at the back next to a group of mermaids more interested in gossiping than learning anyways.

The sun is already setting by the time they are dismissed, and Jeongin is sure he’ll need more than a little study session with Seungmin to catch up with enough content to do the five page assignment due next week.

Changbin fistbumps Jeongin’s shoulder on his way out, and promises to treat him to another super healthy beverage next week. Jeongin thinks maybe there won’t be a next week if he can’t grow back his brain cells in time, but he doesn’t say it out loud..

It’s only when most students are already gone that he notices Felix idling by his seat, deliberately taking his time to assemble his books.

“Hey,” Jeongin approaches him with a smile, hoping to ease some of the tension from their last conversation. “Tough class, huh. I swear for a minute I thought I was studying Ancient Chinese again.”

Felix snorts but doesn’t meet Jeongin’s eyes. Sunset paints him a melancholic orange, a shade that robs Felix of all light and natural joy Jeongin has (not so) slowly been falling for. He keeps fumbling with his gloves, unsure whether it’s safe to take them off just yet, as if they hide more than just a pair of bruises that for all Jeongin knows, could have been just an accident.

“Can I do something for you?”

Felix frowns but doesn’t flinch when Jeongin takes his hand—the bruised one—and holds it for a minute. If anything Jeongin feels Felix’s fingers squeeze his, a small gesture of trust that is all Jeongin needs as reassurance before he closes his eyes.

Healing is as much of an art as any other, and one Jeongin’s body knows by instinct. There is more to Night creatures than just the disorienting, almost menacing, lack of light, and while Jeongin knows little of flowers he knows plenty of nurturing. Nights are, after all, when diurnal beings are laid bare and fragile to heal again.

At least that’s how his mom has always explained their tendency to seek jobs related to health and caring. This is how the magic in them manifests, and Jeongin hopes his is strong enough to soothe some of Felix’s worries away.

Felix breathes in, eyes wide and mouth parted, and Jeongin knows it’s worked.

“You can take them off now,” he smiles, stroking Felix’s knuckles through the gloves. “I promise you’re good now.”

When Felix slips the gloves off, the skin is supple and smooth, no trace whatsoever of whatever harm was there before. An emotion Jeongin can’t quite name overtakes Felix’s face, something powerful enough to make Jeongin’s own heart shake.

“Thank you,” Felix’s voice trembles, but he sounds lighter than he’s done in the last four hours. “I’m sorry, I just- earlier, I-”

“It’s okay, you don’t have to tell me.”

But Felix wants to and he tries to, only someone chooses that moment to clear their throat and scare them off their seats. The professor glares at them, silently demanding they leave at once, and on impulse Jeongin pulls Felix by his unbruised hand and runs away.

There’s something exhilarating about running under the moonlight with your crush’s hand on yours while he laughs, as if Jeongin hung the stars above them. Curious students pass them by, whispering insanity and romance alike, but Jeongin doesn’t have eyes for much anything other than the way Felix flushes from more than just being out of breath.

“Well, that was awkward.”

“Right? Was she just standing there the entire time? I didn’t know professors were that into their students’ love lives.”

The sudden admission of their mutual feelings makes them both share an embarrassed look that doesn’t last too long before they’re laughing again, tenderness spilling through.

“I have another class now,” Jeongin sighs, checking his wristwatch. “And it’s Enchantry at that. Fuck, I can’t enchant to save my life.”

“I bet that’s a lie.”

Felix smiles at him like he means more than just Jeongin’s ability to memorize spells, and honestly _fuck it._

“Say, can I have your number?”

x

They text back and forth throughout that night and beyond, and at some point Jeongin comments on the Advanced Botany assignment he’s bound to fail, no matter how much cramming he does with Seungmin. To say that was an entirely innocent comment would be a lie, for he knew just how good at the subject Felix was, yet Jeongin still squeals to his phone when Felix offers to tutor him.

It’s not a date by any standards—Seungmin straightup calls Jeongin a coward for not at least trying to set it up on a Café—but it does feel like one when Felix shows up in the prettiest flower garland he’s worn since they met.

Jeongin’s face grows hot with the thought of Felix taking the time to dress up for him. The tiger lilies were certainly a very deliberate choice, for their vivid orange shade speckled with brown spots complements Felix’s freckles. The flowers do however fail to outshine his beauty, and Felix reads right through him when Jeongin says:

“The flowers look beautiful today.”

“Thanks, I grew them myself.”

“Wait, so these are real after all? Didn’t you say you weren’t allowed to wear them during class?”

“Well, we’re not in class hours right now. Besides, if a corpse flower decides I’m their next meal, I’ll just take your hand and run away, right?”

Felix winks like he’s rehearsed that line, which makes the whole “not a date” thing feel meaningless.

The flowers still bloom in lush colors inside the greenhouse, a defiance to the biting cold winter outside. It takes more than your average magic to keep them alive so Botany classes are available all year round, a magic Jeongin’s mediocre gardening skills cannot dream of replicating. Felix’s stunning tiger lilies only seem to get more impressive with that in mind.

Jeongin grabs a pair of gloves lying around, but Felix makes him take them off.

“They don’t like the gloves. Makes their handling impersonal. They prefer when they can talk back to you.”

Jeongin digs his bare hands into a flower bed instead then, and squirms at the cold and damp soil. The feeling is more awkward than unpleasant, but his reaction makes Felix nearly smear soil onto his own face when he tries to stifle his laughter. Jeongin can’t find it in him to be mad for being made fun of, not when he feels a weird kind of relief seeing Felix’s hands are still whole.

“I’m glad your hand has recovered well,” Jeongin says. “I wasn’t sure my magic would make the bruises disappear completely.”

“Ah, yes. About that,” Felix grimaces. “Guess I owe you an explanation.”

“Oh, no need to. I don’t want to make you uncomfortable.”

“It’s okay, It’s not something I should be ashamed of.”

Felix’s expression grows somber as he recollects memories he doesn’t often visit. When he looks up for reaffirmation, Jeongin nods for him to go on.

“I was really bad at managing my temper when I was younger. Small things would make me angry and get me into fights. I probably broke more bones than I can remember.”

Felix’s smile returns briefly when he scoops a budding flower with his bare hands. His fingers twined and stained with the same earth still attached to the flower’s spindly roots, it’s hard to tell them apart.

“Things changed when I started taking care of flowers. They can teach you so much about discipline and peace.”

Felix caresses up the stem with one fingertip, and it’s as if the colors shoot up at his command. The bud unfolds into petals, blossoming into a blue iris right before their eyes. The sight is breathtaking while it lasts, for just as quick as it blooms, the flower wilts into itself when Felix’s hands can’t sustain it.

“But sometimes stupid things still make me lose my mind. I can’t even remember why was I so mad last week. I just lost control and punched something out of nowhere.”

Felix watches the flower collapse from his hands, limp and withered.

“Do you sometimes also feel like no matter how hard you try, nothing will ever change? It’s a silly thought, but still.”

Jeongin places his hand above Felix’s, a small, powerless gesture that can’t conjure that flower back to life, but still he tries. It’s a pathetic attempt, for the colors have already left its body, but Jeongin doesn’t give up.

“You’re doing well, even when you think you aren’t. Whether you take one or ten years to blossom, I’m just glad you’re growing at your own pace.”

Felix holds his breath, as if by doing so he could keep Jeongin’s words longer inside, let them grow roots and one day become true. When his eyes well up and he’s too ashamed to let the tears flow, Jeongin is there to remind him that flowers need water to grow.

“Are you sure you’re that bad at botanics?” Felix’s voice trembles, somewhere halfway through a sob and a laugh. “Cos you seem like you get the hang of it.”

“I really don’t,” Jeongin’s shoulders sag. “Flowers don’t bloom at night.”

The words come out loaded with Jeongin’s own set of silly thoughts. The insecurities he doesn’t voice out loud, for fear they might invite themselves over more often if he admits they exist.

The dead iris remains still in his hand, and no matter how hard he concentrates on his healing, it refuses to move. Is he really a Fae when no flower grows where he touches?

Once more Jeongin chooses to smile and shrug his doubts away, but Felix doesn’t let him.

“They do bloom at night, though. Otherwise,” Felix stammers. Licks his lips, cheeks red and full of unspoken feelings. “Otherwise how do I explain you?”

It sounds like a love confession, one that hasn’t been matured yet, raw and tender like new skin. Dating has never truly prepared Jeongin to be _in love_ —a thought probably exhausted by cliché, but genuine in how it makes Jeongin’s heart flutter with realization.

He’s in love.

He’s in love with Felix.

x

Tutoring doesn’t go as well as planned. Not when Jeongin’s every thought shatters, never to become whole once he notices every freckle on Felix’s face as if it’s the first time. Jeongin thinks of counting them with his fingertips; almost, almost does so when he leans in to listen more closely to Felix’s words and they nearly bump forehead to forehead.

Something has changed between them and both feel it lingering in the air, this sweet tension that only increases with every stolen glance met halfway, every touch of their hands that doesn’t feel accidental at all.

In the end, Jeongin doesn’t become any better at Botany than he was before, but Felix doesn’t mind.

“We can try again for as many days as we need to,” is what he says when they part at sundown, which feels like an oddly romantic promise Jeongin hopes they keep.

Even Seungmin doesn’t seem to annoy him as much, which is never truly a good sign but Jeongin basks in it while he can.

That doesn’t last long anyway.

“Hello? Is anyone home?”

Seungmin knocks on Jeongin’s forehead as if he would a door, ultimately ruining Jeongin’s nightdreaming of his real first date with Felix. Jeongin scowls, but Seungmin isn’t intimidated by that.

“What do you want?”

“I’ve been talking to you for the last five minutes, you jerk. The Moon Dance class is performing tonight, remember?”

Once a month by the full moon, the Moon Dance class hosts a special performance to pay tribute to different lunar deities across cultures. It’s a very popular event due to the vast variety of performances they’ve had before, from six hour long opera shows to old school rock band concerts. It’s such a huge thing even diurnal students show up.

It’s also widely used as an excuse to skip classes, which means the open-air theatre is packed with students from all faculties. Jeongin gets the chills just from thinking about that crowd.

“I’m not coming.”

“What? Why?!”

“I don’t want people to remember me,” Jeongin cringes, making disgusted noises. “Worse yet, I don’t want the _deities_ to remember me.”

Last term’s last Moon Dance performance just happened to fall on a Super Full Moon, which had promised to be their most memorable performance yet on the entire university history. Jeongin played a crucial part of that history by tripping down the stage at the climax part of their dance choreography, probably disgracing his lineage for the next three thousand generations in the process.

Needless to say, he isn’t looking forward to making a public appearance at Moon Dance ever again.

“Come on, I heard tonight’s a ballad concert or something. You can invite Felix and be sappy together.”

Jeongin decides to ignore Seungmin wriggling his eyebrows at him and check his phone instead.

Felix left a message ten minutes ago.

**_felix @ 11:20 pm_ **

_come meet me at the greenhouse before midnight_

“Excellent, so Felix is here and you guys can-”

But Jeongin doesn’t stay behind to listen to Seungmin’s nonsense.

The hallways are already busy with laughter and conversation from students on their way out of class, but Jeongin heads to the opposite direction of all that noise.

Though not completely gone from this distance, the sound of music comes in softer waves, background to the rising feelings in his chest. Jeongin’s head spins like a giddy teenager. What could have brought Felix back here after class hours? Was it just the spontaneous wish to see Jeongin again—but why, all of a sudden? Could he have come for the Moon Dance and wanted to see Jeongin before they head there?

As promised, Felix waits for him at the greenhouses, still wearing the tiget lilies from earlier today. Though the colors are muted in the dark blue night, the moonlight seems to claim Felix’s smile as hers, as if he never not belonged anywhere but where the moon touches him.

“Hey, you came. I thought you’d be at the Moon Dance thingy.”

“Tempting, but no thanks,” Jeongin shrugs, shaking off thoughts of public humiliation and replacing them with the boy smiling at him. “I’d rather be here with you.”

Felix takes Jeongin by the hand and guides him to where a tall flower stands nearly to their height, with a deep dark green stem that could be easily mistaken for black. The velvety white petals on its head are locked in a spiral, but Jeongin can tell it’s beautiful even hiden from sight.

“You said flowers don’t bloom at night, but they do,” Felix squeezes his hand. “I brought this one from home because it’s about to bloom, and I wanted to watch it with you.”

“You had all this trouble?” Jeongin chews on his lips. “For me?”

Felix just smiles, undeniably true.

“For you.”

When midnight comes, the white petals unfurl to drink in the moonlight. The petals stick out as if piercing the night with a thorn-like crown around its pitch black core, that contrary to its menacing appearance, breathes out a sweet, soothing perfume.

Jeongin hesitates when poking a petal, but they’re surprisingly soft and pliant, curling up his finger as if they’re greeting him. He caresses them with his open palm and they yield to his touch, and Jeongin can’t tell who feels more comforted by the other’s gentleness.

The flower almost seems to sigh when he takes his hand away.

“It’s beautiful” Jeongin chuckles, poking the petals again and yelping, delighted, when they poke him back. “Playful, aren’t you?”

“It’s called Midnight Eyes,” Felix explains. “No one knows for sure when it blooms and many have destroyed them before because they look like plague. It’s a lonely little thing, really, just waiting for the day someone will say hello.”

A bold thought crosses Jeongin’s mind when the petails coil around his fingers again, asking him to stay. 

Felix doesn’t question when Jeongin gently plucks a tiger lily from his flower garland. If anything he reassures Jeongin when he hesitates with the flower on his hand, feeling foolish and self-conscious of the mere idea he could know what a flower wants. 

But for once he leaves those insecurities behind and focus on the thought he can’t let go off, and the tiger lily responds by growing back roots.

The tiger lily wraps them around the Midnight Eye’s stem, growing where it grows, their leaves entangled, their heads facing each other as if in a kiss.

Jeongin looks at Felix at that moment and pulls him close too, until their foreheads bump and the freckles of his tiger lily skin invite him forward.

“I think they like each other.”

“Yeah,” Felix smiles against his lips.. “I think they do.”

Behind Jeongin’s eyelids, the flowers still bloom at night.

**Author's Note:**

> did you guys know most flowers are poisonous to humans? while i was looking up flowers for felix's flower crowns i happened to choose poisonous flowers only until i found out most are poisonous anyway lol
> 
> if you wish to know more about my work follow me on twitter and cc @hyeonlix <3 thanks for reading!


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